[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/lit/ - Literature


View post   

File: 246 KB, 900x636, 1389128795479.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11066181 No.11066181 [Reply] [Original]

Did you make progress on writing your novel today?

>> No.11066655

I had been writing five handwritten pages every day for the last week, but now my hand has hurt for the last two days and I'm scared to write anything.

>> No.11066745

>>11066181
It's a screenplay but no. Might do some editing after work though.

>> No.11066830
File: 1.19 MB, 3096x1228, 1524865083329.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11066830

>>11066181
I don't write but whoever wrote this shit definitely shitposts here daily.

>> No.11066859

>>11066655
Then type it instead.

>> No.11067040

>>11066859
Whenever I try to type I get immense block and never write anything. I'm fine with doing editing and rewrites on a computer, but my first draft needs to be by hand.

>> No.11067069

>over the course of generations there have been countless aspiring writers who have filled journals with bits and pieces of the greatest novels that will never be written

>> No.11067301

>>11066181
I'm working on the outline because without it I feel lost. So far, I'm trying to figure out what the overarching plot is meant to be because so far it's essentially just a series of training events followed by a selection course followed by more training.

>> No.11067381

No. An agent who offered me great feedback last year got back to me about my revision and was a fucking prick about it. I welcome feedback but I was taken aback by how unprofessional his reply was, especially after his first response was so tailored and considerate. I'm taking some time out before the third rewrite, and I won't be approaching him again when it's done.

>> No.11067458

>>11067381
How'd you find him?

>> No.11067472

>>11067381
What'd he say?

>> No.11067477

>>11067458

Listed on the writer's services website. I used that site to make a spreadsheet of all the agents in the UK, and started going through it based on preferences listed on their own websites. This guy listed crime as an interest, and what I'd done was a weird lit crime thing, so submitted to him.

>> No.11067511

>>11067472

Dealing with agents: play in two parts.

'This is an impressive piece of writing (though could Charlotte crawl into an irrigation pipe with her hands tied?). Is it written from experience, or imagination and a lot of research? Either way, you write very well, but – sorry about the “but” – the subject and the characters are so relentlessly depressing, I rather doubt I could find you a publisher at a time when most of us are depressed enough. If there was someone, say an undercover detective, who could follow Charlotte and ensure her survival, so there was a bit of light at the end of what sounds like a very long and very dark tunnel, that might help. As it is, though you are a good and talented writer, I’d be no use to you as an agent if I couldn’t sell your book.

Sorry, again.'

So I went away, added a detective, gave it a very fucking happy ending after a lot of adversity and darkness, and thanked him for his kind advice in the cover letter:

'And you think the revision isn’t bleak?

You describe a horrible world in credible detail, but I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint you again and say I can’t help you with Bloodhound because I can’t think who would buy it.

Maybe I should stop giving people advice.

Good luck anyway.'

>> No.11067517

>>11067511
what publishing company?

>> No.11067518
File: 12 KB, 400x300, 1502578245699.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11067518

>>11067511

>> No.11067520

>>11067511
Did you save the original manuscript?

>> No.11067542

>>11067517

Would rather not identify anyone, even if I would like to cost this asshole business in the future.

>>11067518

Yeah, to say I was crestfallen would be a fucking understatement. Eight months of my life for that shit. The good thing is I have the prose down, which is by far the most difficult part. I've been chatting to an acquaintance who's a bestseller (she was pissed at that response on my behalf), and she had a look over my first three chapters and synopsis and told me where I went wrong in making the revision saleable.

>> No.11067544

>>11067542
Do you have an editor

>> No.11067546

>>11067520

Of course. I keep a physical copy, and save and keep backups in a number of places.

>> No.11067552

>>11067546
How many pages is your novel?

>> No.11067555

>>11067544

No, an agent would find you an editor. But the bestseller's advice was of the sort an editor might provide.

>> No.11067559

>>11067555
You don't get an Editor to clean up your manuscript before you give it to an agent.

>> No.11067561

>>11067552

230 or so, Times New Roman size 12, 1.5 spaced. More importantly, word count is 90k.

>> No.11067567

>>11067561
Then it should be 290 pages more or less

>> No.11067572

>>11067559

If you've got the money there are people who offer such a service (I don't), but these aren't editors in the sense of a person within a publishing house.

>> No.11067679

>>11067511
Did this guy charge you anything to look it over? I'm just about to start looking for agents myself but that side of the publishing process is completely new to me.

>> No.11067685

>>11067679

A legit agent (a member of the AAA) will never, ever charge to read your first three chapters. If you happen across an agent who charges to read unsolicited manuscripts, do not use them.

>> No.11067695

>>11067685
They only read up to the Third Chapter?

>> No.11067715

>>11067695

An agent's average request (their individual criteria is stated explicitly on the Submissions page of their website, read this and follow it to the absolute fucking letter) is: a cover letter in the body of your email that tells them why you are considering them for representation, a quick blurb about your work, the first three chapters in a word doc, and a full plot synopsis (spoilers included) of the work.

Some request only the first two chapters, some request specific formatting such as double spacing. It's important to follow their rules if you want to get out of the slush pile and receive a quick response. If they reject you they may be inclined to offer some feedback, instead of sending the usual template rejection. As you can see it worked in my case the first time around, even if the second response was unprofessional and shitty. I've received a fair bit of feedback from other agents too, just for listening to them.

>> No.11067720

Does deleting it count as progress?

>> No.11067725

>>11067715
Once you have been picked up by a publisher do they accept all of your manuscripts?

>> No.11067734

>>11067695
If they can get past your query letter.

>> No.11067741

>>11067725

Not sure. As you can see, I'm still seeking representation and unpublished.

>> No.11067772

>>11067741
How long have you been at it?

>> No.11067773

>>11066181
I drank cheap asian beer and smoked ciggies in the rain today

>> No.11067794

>>11067772

Writing serious work for submission, about three years. Writing full stop, around four-and-a-half.

>> No.11067796

>>11067794
and not once have you been publish?

>> No.11067799

>>11067796

No. I write novels exclusively and it's a long, laborious process. And in the case of my acquaintance it took five very difficult years and several rewrites before her work was published.

>> No.11067808

>>11067799
Good on you for sticking with it then. Are you feeling confident about your chances?

>> No.11067821

>>11067808

If it wasn't for writer acquaintance I may have given up entirely this week because of the agent's shitty attitude. However, I have faith in my ability as a writer (the strength of my prose is not an issue now) and the novel's core ideas definitely have potential, it's just how to deliver it in a saleable way. My problem this time around was not fully embracing the crime thriller genre and putting too much of emphasis on the quality of prose and not enough on driving the plot forwards. Next time, I'll deliver on that. And if I fail I'll still be writing because it's something I genuinely love to do.

>> No.11067860

>>11067821
Want to give us a quick rundown?

Also, how important would anyone here say having a collection of published short stories is to getting a full-length novel published? I've heard publishers are more willing to take a chance if you've proven you can get your stuff in print.

>> No.11067879

>>11066181

>Did you make progress on writing your novel today?

Ah, well let me check sure is not that ba....

>Created, 26 of February 2016

Oh god, well a-at least, the word count is...

>10.495 words

...

Why do I even try? I just end up being incapable of putting more than a few words and that's forcing myself into doing it.

Maybe I'm not cut for this.

>> No.11068284

I've been writing an Isekai story. It's weirdly self indulgent.

From Yesterday, I'm six pages into the story.

>> No.11068331

I’m not out of bed yet, but I made progress yesterday. I’m so tantalizingly close to finishing. Just cleaning up the prose. Makes my palms sweat thinking about letting this go and worrying that I fucked it up.

>> No.11068340

>>11067860
Not at all. Most debut novelists do not have short story collections first. Having stuff in magazines or journals can help. Being famous is better.

But in all cases you have to finish a novel. So do that first

>> No.11068348
File: 85 KB, 736x558, 8685699f97ac8519649ba3b7916556e5.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11068348

I really want to write my Post-Apocalyptic/CyberPunk Story with a few fantasy elements sprinkle here and there. But I believe people will be out off by my first novel. How do I go by rectifying this?

>> No.11068356

>>11068348
Make it character driven.

>> No.11068362

>>11067069
How do I make these tidbits into a finished piece? At this rate, I have volume upon volume of unwritten novels.

>> No.11068364

>>11068356
It already is character Driven.

>> No.11068687
File: 1.55 MB, 1920x1080, 1512487591395.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11068687

>>11068348
Are you me?

>> No.11068723

>>11068348
What do you mean they'll be put off by your first novel? What was your first novel?

>> No.11068747

I'm still struggling with how to seamlessly blend the porn into the themes of the story so that I can finally produce art you can jerk off to.

>> No.11068776

I wrote three novels, each more unreadable and unpublishable than the last. I want to write more but taking the time to write this kind of shit is a life-ruining process that's left me at what feels like death's door.

>> No.11068801

>>11068776
How do you write three novels and not improve between them? My first and third novels are so vastly different in terms of quality that I'm almost astonished that I used to consider myself human back when I wrote that piece of shit, and it's only been a year.

>> No.11068803

>>11068348
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B078VFSGBR
This is kinda like what you're talking about only with more overt magical/fantastical elements and a flagrant disregard for any potential reader.

>> No.11068814

>>11066181
that’s so fucking disgusting, you animals take pride in that. i was a NEET for two years and my room was never remotely close to looking like that

>> No.11068827

no, i can't do a damn thing with it at the moment. i'm hoping it'll just write itself.

>> No.11068832
File: 24 KB, 328x328, Rance2.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11068832

>>11068747
Portraying sex tastefully like you would need to in order to consider it "artsy" does not lend itself well to being used as pornography. Really your only hope of making erotic fiction that can also stand alone as a story is to affect an ebullient and humorous tone. Though this is under the assumption that you're writing this for men, and not women. For women, all you need to do is make the MC an average girl that for some reason ignites the lust of an alpha billionaire who could certainly do better than her but chooses not to for the sake of wish fulfillment.

>> No.11068835

>>11068801
By unpublishable and unreadable I mean they're aggressively convoluted, dense in ways people wouldn't expect or want to deal with, and generally unpalatable to everyone by design.

I've improved, but my goal is itself self-defeating in that I've gotten better at crafting things no one would want to read. It was deliberate and I don't want to stop doing it, but now more than ever I feel like I'm probably going to die in my sleep one of these days or drop dead while walking down the street or something. Don't have any money left from my last job since I drank it all up.

>> No.11068847

>>11068832
>Really your only hope of making erotic fiction that can also stand alone as a story is to affect an ebullient and humorous tone.
Agreed. In my experimentation I've begun to lead towards dramadey.

Although I did write a noir pastiche that worked pretty well too.

>> No.11068856
File: 176 KB, 1280x762, 32f7c2075e03d92ab07709c0fc45e723.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11068856

>>11068723
>What do you mean they'll be put off by your first novel?

The Main Character of the Novel is supposed to be an unlikable person with no redeeming qualities whatsoever (though the Reader will be deceived in the beginning). the Entire plot (Which is entirely character driven) is nothing more than a deconstruction of the Staple young adult dystopian novels.

On the fence about this.

>> No.11068863
File: 1.60 MB, 500x281, Nobones.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11068863

>>11068835
You seem to put a lot of stock into other people's opinions and approval, yet only want to write things you like. It's quite presumptuous to only write what you want and expect other people to enjoy it as much as you do. Either stop caring about their opinions and write what you want, or bite the bullet and realize how ridiculous it is to expect people to lap at your feet without ever throwing them a bone. It's like the introverted kid who complains about having no friends, yet never goes out of his way to make any and expects them to force themselves into his life.

>> No.11068888
File: 335 KB, 484x527, 1521117041111.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11068888

>>11066181

No.

How do i stop procrastinating even in a thing that actually gives me pleasure? But once i label it as ''work'' or ''must do'' i loose my motivation.

Save me, Anons, save this poor soul.

>> No.11068892

>>11067720
underrated

>> No.11068905

>>11068863
No, it's the exact opposite of basically everything you said. My fiction is meant to frustrate, insult, and offend 99% of the human species. Expectations are taken into account in order to better be betrayed. I love what I do. My only real issue is that it's not financially or physically sustainable, though on the other hand, the impracticality of it was the driving force behind it in the first place and I fully expected to die before I even finished the first one. So it all went about the way I expected it to.

>> No.11068917

>>11068905
>My fiction is meant to frustrate, insult, and offend 99% of the human species.
Based.

>> No.11069215
File: 44 KB, 500x583, 7CE72450-0245-49CC-87FD-A38AE3B0689F.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11069215

Another thousand.
Currently 112k
Been a slow week because of extra things at work and having to work this morning. Going home now to knock out another thousand or so

>> No.11069225

>>11068888
>Save me, Anons, save this poor soul.
No

:3

>> No.11069242
File: 29 KB, 480x480, 1514293864642.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11069242

Haven't written a single thing because college is hard

>> No.11069406

2000 words and going strong until I hit a puzzle and now I'm stuck. Fucking killed all my momentum and even though it's 2am right now, I don't want to go to bed until I can reach a satisfactory conclusion for the night.

>> No.11069418
File: 1.73 MB, 209x213, 1403371886460.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11069418

>>11069215
I remember what avatarfagging was a bannable offense.

>> No.11069433
File: 40 KB, 640x620, D92310F6-AEA8-4EF2-9118-FD16A5013CF5.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11069433

>>11069418
No you don’t.

>> No.11069465
File: 32 KB, 441x329, depressed babby.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11069465

>tfw write every day but only about two or three paragraphs
>tfw I despise every word I write but still don't want to stop

>> No.11069474

>>11069465
>tfw have about 50 2,000-5,000 word beginnings of stories saved in my google drive
>hate all of them, they're all shit, every last one

>> No.11069649

>>11068856
We need this
Make it literary and transcend genre fiction and I can't see why I shouldn't enjoy this

>> No.11069705

Wrote some dialogue between two characters talking about diseases.

>> No.11069762

>>11067477
>submitted last novel to about 25 different agents
>a few positive but still declining responses
>a few form rejections
>mostly no response
>about to edit it and try again now several months later that I can see the novel more objectively
Feels bad man. I need to make a spreadsheet and be more organized about it, too. Not sure if I'm gonna do a surface level edit or something more comprehensive.
Then I need to pick my newer one up and finish it. Got lost because I didn't understand the main character well enough to write him. Now I have a better experience base and can try again soon. I tend to write intricate plots with complex conflicts between multiple individuals and groups, with added layers of deception or misleading. Sorry if I sound like I can't string together a sentence let alone a novel, out of it right now. So I have a hell of a time hammering out any plotholes and making everything logically sound. But it's what I enjoy.
Anyway, don't get mad at the agents, they're just doing a job. Put yourself in their shoes: you probably have 900 idiots throwing manuscripts at you every day, and maybe a handful of anything worth reading, yet you can't take on more than a dozen projects a year. Think of how many bored shit-for-brains housewives with an inflated sense of self importance probably try to publish their shit every single day by hounding agents. If I met an agent IRL I'd buy him a drink out of pity.

>> No.11069802

No but I did make progress on writing my treatise

>> No.11069964

>>11068284
Time to add in sex scenes.

The point of view from this kind of story's mentor character is getting interesting. Personal favorite MC.

>> No.11070014

>>11068832
Agreed. Romance reader chicks dig dynamics. If your hero has some interest in say, Hawaiian team Curling, then have them play off each other.

So far the DNF readings I've found through review websites is that the Hero is too overbearing, Too Alpha or the dynamic off each other is too flat. Then the reviewer will lose interest.

I found one where the book was about a hero who smells memories. And the dynamic was, "I saw your rape so I gotten a boner to rescue you with. And now you got powers too. Whoa."

>> No.11070019

Lately I had written sometimes that is too boring or too cliche. I think I am uninspired at best. Now I am trying to reset myself to zero and grow from there. I had been reading Thomas Ligotti interviews and works, if I remembered correctly, he was the one that got me interested in fiction as an artform.

>> No.11070107

>>11069215
Proud of you

>> No.11070111

Anyone writing non-fiction?

>> No.11070116

>>11069762

I don't get mad at all agents, just that one asshole. I was nothing but courteous and have absolutely no idea what I did to piss him off. All of my other agent correspondence, outside of the template rejections, has been professional.

>> No.11070523

>>11068856
Not a writer, but my recommendation is make sure the reader will feel impressed/excited/amazed when getting to the twist?
If they feel cheated it will leave a bad taste in their mouth. Maybe put some hints? Have some foreshadowing?

>> No.11070656

>>11070111
My diary desu

>> No.11070849

>>11069474
>tfw have dozens ans dozens of opening paragraphs and think they're amazing, but can't write the rest of the story
I genuinely am only skilled at writing the first chapter or prologue or whatever, and the longer it goes on, the worse it becomes. I just about haven't finished any novel because I can't write endings

>> No.11070884

>>11070107
Thanks brah!

>> No.11070886

>>11070111
Yep

>> No.11070897

>>11070111
me

>> No.11071182

>>11070116
It kind of sounds like he was having a bad day, wanted to go home but had to send off one last email before he could leave the office. That or he hadn't had the time to properly read your draft, didn't really want to, but had to respond anyway. Those are the only reasons I can think of for a sudden change in his demeanor.

>> No.11071396

What's the best process to go through when editing my novel?

When writing I just had a small word goal and kept it up but I don't know if that applies, even though I do know that I'm going to need to re-write a large portion of the story

>> No.11071534

>>11069465
Yeah, we've all been there.
Believe it or not you'll eventually get better, and if not, simply stop caring altogether since you'll end up doing it so often you might as well start feeling chagrined for each of your daily shits for all the sense it would make to still feel insecure after that long.

>> No.11072366

>>11071182

It was first thing in the morning and he works from home. It sounds arrogant but the only reason I can think that he'd be like that towards me specifically was that I didn't deliver exactly what he wanted based on his scarce original feedback, and he had hope that I'd come back to him with an easy sale.

>> No.11072375
File: 19 KB, 255x232, octoberry.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11072375

Getting into writing again. I don't remember shit. It's been like five years. I've been reading refresher shit and wrote 10 pages of some thing which I think might be cool. I'm having a lot of fun though, having forgotten how much I enjoyed doing this. Do you guys have like a pastebin of resources for idiots that wander in here like me?

>> No.11072398

>>11066181
yeah i decided to turn my primary protagonist into a noble, self aware tapir
keep your eyes peeled for my amazon release next month bros

>> No.11072402

>>11072398
BASED tapirbro

>> No.11073325

>>11071396

I usually edit my novels in a few steps. As I'm writing the first draft, I keep a document with a numbered list of small corrections...inconsistencies, additions, clarifications, etc., small niggling stuff. I fix all these things first. Then, while the book's still fresh in my head, I do dialogue edits, going through the book character by character, making sure each one has a distinct voice. Then I let the novel "rest" for about a month to get some distance before I do the real editing. After time has passed, I print it out and edit it with a red pen (this makes it feel like more someone else's work rather than my own, and I'm inclined to criticize it more thoroughly). Then I let some of my artsy friends read it and get their feedback, and do one more round of edits accordingly.

I've written 5 novels, but my intense perfectionism prevents me from bothering to submit most of them. I got somewhat close to landing an agent with the last one. The thing I'm writing now, though, is the first one I actually feel is worthy. Good luck, Anon.

>> No.11073333

How does one decide on the Narration for the Novel?

>> No.11073640

>>11067879
why not just give a short story a shot or start the whole project anew?

>> No.11073648

>>11070849
why not start writing from the last chapter to the last?

>> No.11073655

>>11073648
first*

>> No.11073781 [DELETED] 

>>11070523
This is my goal. But first I need to start out small which is why I went with the Ya/genre fiction.

>> No.11073784

>>11069649
This is my goal. But first I need to start out small which is why I went with the Ya/genre fiction.

>> No.11073831 [DELETED] 

Should I use my A material on my first book?
Im not going into it wanting it to get published per se, I just want to improve my writing. I have a good idea but it seems pretty difficult to do it justice, should i go for something other than that? I feel like Id really just flop and ruin the idea honestly.

>> No.11073916

>>11073831
Absolutely not. Save it for when you're competent. There isn't a writer in the world that doesn't end up looking upon their first novel with disgust. Write something simple so you can get accustomed to writing longer things, scene changes, and extended dialogue and character interactions. Honestly I'd say save it for your third or even fourth novel depending on your skill level going into the first. Took me two before I starting writing at a decent level. Though, you'll want to at least make your first book about something you have an interest in.

>> No.11073921
File: 1.60 MB, 1700x1946, image.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11073921

I have gold medals in speech writing but know next to nothing on novels

Can someone spoon feed on how to begin

>> No.11073954
File: 601 KB, 1612x2072, dqATdP1.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11073954

>>11073921

>> No.11073969
File: 903 KB, 774x821, image.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11073969

>>11073954
Thank you anon

>> No.11073992

>>11073969
No problem phoneposter

>> No.11074132

>>11067511
This is now an agent hate thread.

Agent who solicited my MS. after seeing a story of mine in a journal hasn't gotten back to me after six months. I already followed up once, four months ago, so not sure what I'm supposed to do now. Even a rejection would be nice at this point....

I have a friend who works on the business end of publishing, and he says these people are impossible to work with.

>> No.11074152

>>11073954
Did any good authors actually read shit like this? I suspect it's better to write, fail, and learn from that instead of listening to someone else try to explain writing to you.

>> No.11074161

>>11074152
Well if you don't know shit it's at least a good starting point
Also you shouldn't only read guides, writers read other novels and learn from them too

>> No.11074207

>>11074152
Elements of Style is something I'd consider required reading, but as with everything else on there, you'll generally get a feel for whatever they're talking about naturally just by reading and writing with a discerning ear and focused eye. Above all, the most important thing to do if you want to be a writer is just write.

>> No.11074274

>>11074132

I'd say get in touch again, try and get your closure. Four months is long enough to wait, and it's inconsiderate on the agent's part to not have been back in touch. Best of luck.

>>11074152

Elements of Style is legit. I was recently recommended a book called The Rhetoric of Fiction which is meant to be essential reading, too. Otherwise I learned all I know by reading widely, writing daily, and editing efficiently. I have an advantage in the latter though, as I used to be a subeditor.

>> No.11074292

I have two separate stories I'm working on and every time I continue writing one I immediately want to go back to the other. I know I need to just sit the fuck down and focus on one but my mind doesn't want to sit still.

>> No.11074309

I am no writer but how do you guys even force yourself to do something like this?
There are so many authors out there already, the competition is huge.
Do you really hope that you would be considered one of those talented writers or just hope to get into the pop stream and make some quick cash before going into obscurity?

>> No.11074342

>>11074309
What kind of retarded question is that? You think anyone here becomes a writer because of the money? You write because you want to. You write because you have a story you want to tell. You write because you enjoy it. If you can make money off of what you enjoy, then that'd just be great, but it's not the goal.

You seem like the kind of insecure youth that uses "But other people are better at it than me!" as an excuse to never put your their into anything.

>> No.11074345

>>11074309

There's no force about it. I love to write and it's all I want to do with my life. To do it for a living would be incredible, but I'm so passionate about writing that I'll be doing it for the rest of my life anyway.

>> No.11074365

Hey guys, can we start like a writer's circle, or something through Discord?

>> No.11074932

>>11073954
The “how to” books will deliver to a space to understanding how it all goes together but they’re not going to write it for you.

>> No.11074985

>>11069215
What do you think the final word count be?

>> No.11075001

>>11074309
I've always been the best writer I know and I've learned the most about it on my own. Went to a school with a top 10 English program and dropped out after 3 semesters because I felt like I could teach myself better than anyone else.

Any writer who thinks they're good should hold themselves to incredibly high standards and WANT to be better than every writer around them.

>> No.11075009

>>11070849
Nah if you were really worth shit you'd know how to continue. Post one and I'll show that you're not nearly as good as you think.

>> No.11075034

>>11068856
Holy fuck, this is almost exactly what I tried writing a few years ago. Godspeed, anon.

>> No.11075066

>>11066181
I've had a tooth abscess the last 3 days so all I've been doing was taking pain pills, antibiotics, and sleeping.

So no.

>> No.11075077

>>11074207
>>11074274
I read through Elements of Style and I already knew a majority of what was explained. Does that mean I was taught well enough?

>> No.11075081

>>11074985
Should be about 120. Little more, little less

>> No.11075084

>Dr. Pepper
>tits

I need that woman, I can clean really well

>> No.11075085

>>11075066
Sooty to hear that, anon

>> No.11075092

>>11074309
I want to be good at something for once in my life.

Also, to the thread in general, I like to think editing counts as progress. My lecturer gave me many heartbreaking pointers, but I shall make the necessary adjustments. Even if it hurts. Especially if it hurts.

>> No.11075094

>>11075092
Especially if it hurts is right.

>> No.11075097

how do I into writing? do I actually need to read first?

>> No.11075106

>>11075094
I know right. For some reason, the pain of writing is part of the appeal. I want W. Somerset Maugham to punish me. I've been bad~

>>11075097
Yes. Read about 100 well-respected novels, then write. You will have all that knowledge about how to write, and that'll make the process quite a bit easier. Plus, reading is fun, kids!

>> No.11075107

>>11075092

Editing is writing. It's all a beautiful, agonising cycle.

>>11075097

Yes. A lot. And never stop.

>> No.11075115

>>11075107
...Does the pain lessen over time? Or does it get worse?

>> No.11075123

>>11075115

It hurts so good.

Now sit at the typewriter and bleed.

>> No.11075151

>>11075123
O-okay. I can do that.

>> No.11075178

I was trying to write a romance between two characters but I can't write romance for shit so I'm just taking a break from writing now.

>> No.11075182

>>11075178
Write what you know, amirite?

>> No.11075303

>>11066181
i finished the first draft a few days ago
gonna get feedback from some people then start the 2nd draft
feel really good that iv gotten this far

>> No.11075314

>>11075303
keep feeling the good feeling

>> No.11075346

>>11075314
ill try
my book is likely shit, but I have to start with something and im glad I could do it

>> No.11075521

>>11066181
Nope, I'm struggling with lots of interpersonal demons. Porn addiction, working 3 jobs, and wanting to play video games at every free moment. I've had this loose outline of a story rattling around in my head, but I feel like I have so many distractions that its impossible to collect my thoughts and focus enough to accomplish anything, and the two times I have focused enough and dedicated enough time, there were terrible consequences for doing so that greatly impacted my delicate work situation and (continue to) jeopardize my financial health.

Seriously, last weekend I spent an hour reading a book about writing, and during that 1 hour span of time, I missed one call and two emails that cost me weeks of progress at work, and the weekend before that I spent not even 20 minutes outlining before my phone started to blow up and I had to rush to an emergency client meeting that I could have been prepared for had I spent those 20 minutes reviewing my employee's information at the first free moment I had instead of trying to relegate it to sunday, and instead I walked into the meeting blind, looked like a fool, and lost two clients instead.

I have free time now, but I'm terrified to do anything that isn't directly work-related, for fear of making more backwards progress that has terrible financial consequences on me, so I am reviewing placements and responding immediately to work emails on my days off, today I've had nearly 100 emails come through, I really wish I knew how to balance this and be creative and write at the same time.

>> No.11075551

Dystopia's suck.

>> No.11075599

>>11067511
>Maybe I should stop giving people advice.
There's no maybe about it.

>> No.11075617

>>11068814
I choose to believe that most people ITT don't live like that.

>>11072375
Is Octoberry daijobu?

>> No.11075619

>>11074309
I wrote my first book in two months after quitting a really wretched job and assuming I'd probably die soon. The idea was just to leave something behind, whether it was published or not.

>> No.11075623

How do you guys practice writing techniques? Obviously by writing, but do you make a throw away story with the priority being improving a certain thing (theme, dialogue, scene dynamics, etc.) Or what else can you do?

>> No.11075631

>>11075521
Truth is from how it sounds you cant. You have to choose because you obviously cant do both. Unfortunate but true. If your financial situation is so dire that you have to spend every waking moment working, then maybe you should handle that situation first

>> No.11075646

>>11075631
It feels like I'm always handling this situation first, I'm not sure why but I'm just...not good at life. Unless I work 24/7, it seems that I lose my job wherever I go. I've pretty much accepted that I have to live like this, maybe if I make a small amount of progress each day, eventually I'll have actually finished something. I'd really like to find someone who's in a similar situation of having a trillion distractions and living under a lot of pressure who'd like to find someone who help motivate and hold them accountable and set small goals with each other to keep each other moving forwards, but I'm just not sure where to look for someone like that or how it'd work.

>> No.11075662

>>11075623
I mostly learned by reading and imitating certain stylistic things I like from various authors in my own work. Like I'd consciously try to write this chapter or short story like Pynchon might, or that one like Joyce would, etc. At this point, I've more or less settled into my own style with its own distinct features but what made me suck early on was mostly not knowing what good writing actually looked like.

>> No.11075671

>>11067511
Oh fuck anon i remember bemoaning to you the fact that bleakness was an impediment to getting a book deal and wished you luck


What a fuckin prick
Fuck that guy

>> No.11075696

>>11075671
Agents in the entertainment industry are literal parasites with inflated egos. No one should hold their profession in high regard.

>> No.11075728

>>11068856
You are not the hero we sorry sops deserve, yet the one we need.

>> No.11075769

>>11074309
Honestly I have set my intention where the worst outcome is for my novels to be in the bargain bin at Ollie's Discount Outlet. I just want to be free.

>> No.11075777

>>11068863
More like its readers fault for being normies.

>> No.11075778

Only got about two paragraphs in today, but I had a 10 page paper to write.
This is my first novel, not trying to do anything groundbreaking, just trying to write about the basement punk scene I used to be a part of. Thinking of going YA fiction for it so I feel less pressure.

>> No.11075800

>>11066181
i have a block bc i dont find a way to explain what i have in mind (and dont ripp off something else)

>> No.11075814

>>11066181
I like this image

>> No.11075821

>>11075814
ya those drawings/pixelart of messy ass nerd bedrooms always make me feel good and also a little inspired to draw one with my Apple Pencil (tm) not but for real apple pencil rad af

>> No.11075851

>>11066181
Is this supposed to be like a game of where's Waldo but lewder?
>Those discarded panties
>Those condoms
>Those anal beads

>> No.11075862

>>11075851
you missed the egg vibrator

>> No.11075867

>>11075862
I couldn't mention all of them. I had to leave some for the rest to find.

>> No.11075869

i started a short shory, this is what I have:
Dr.Avellone stared studiously at the tiny computer screen before him.The light the computer emitted seemed blinding amidst the solid darkness around him, despite the darkness the inescapable smell of old moldy books and

>> No.11075870

>>11075867
glad you're looking out for us anon

>> No.11075910

I want a novelization of Steamed Hams

>> No.11075934

>>11075671
>bleakness was an impediment to getting a book deal
Guess I'm fucked then

>> No.11076007

>>11068888
>considering quads on quads with your pic...
youtube.com/watch?v=1lTcgSzf0AQ

>> No.11076014

>>11068888
give your pc and your phone to your parents or to one of your friends, live without them for 7 days and focus on writing to fight the boredom

>> No.11076230

>>11074309
It's a compulsion.

>>11074365
Discords are cancer.

>>11075623
Focus on a specific thing with every given story.
>I could bone up on my dialogue.
>My prose needs a little work.
>I want to experiment with different narrative formats.
And so on.

>> No.11076262

>>11074365
I second this idea.

>>11076230
How about an IRC channel then?

>> No.11076270

Anons, I've been thinking of adapting a lot of ideas from other works, but spinning it to become a bit of my thing. However, I feel kind of bad about it. What are your views on this, anons?

>> No.11076290

>>11076270
Literally everything is adapted from other works.

>> No.11076292

will it become grating if my MC keeps on defending the villain in the face of his abuse right up until she sees actual physical proof that he's a psychopath who murdered his own wife?

Part of the arc is about the fact that all the actions we're seeing depicted as tough but fair parenting are actually indoctrination techniques to keep her under control

>> No.11076308

>>11066181
682 rn

>> No.11076312

>>11076292
How well do you think you can you pull this off?

>> No.11076316

>>11076312
depends on what you're referring to. His ambiguous morality or her obstinance ?

>> No.11076324

>>11076316
Not well I see.

>> No.11076341

>>11076316
Meh, here is a hint, you are focusing on the wrong thing here. Focus on actions damn it, how well can you pull off a realistic depiction of deception? Apparently not well if you dodged the tipping point in your answer.

>> No.11076382

>>11076324
>>11076341

I'm confident I can execute the moral ambiguity of his actions well. My concern is whether I can write her stubbornness as relatable when it starts to click with the readers that he's a villain

>> No.11076416

>>11076382
Now is something, and yes you can if you dig a little in a victims point of view. I don't know his actions but much of the moral ambiguity around is already hard to perceive by strangers but not for familiars and vice versa. Maybe if you can write her thought process in a believable way you can make the audience understand her position but not deceive the audience. So, maybe is easy to not to try to deceive the audience and the girl character, but to portrait the girl as in an ill position.

Maybe do some research on sympathetic victims and you can pull off this well. Or try the empathetic approach and try to fool the audience. Whatever this imagine the audience as being you, and if you either believe her or him at the end. If you can't, you can't.

>> No.11076499

>>11076416
>I don't know his actions but much of the moral ambiguity around is already hard to perceive by strangers but not for familiars and vice versa.

These are the sorts of things she defends him on before it comes to a head

>kidnapping her (she was about to be murdered by someone else so he was protecting her)
>refusing to take her to a hospital after an adventure ends in her getting second degree burns on her legs and two missing toes (that murderer is still hunting her and he DID see to it that her wounds were treated)
>locking her in a room to do a research assignment (she had snuck out on another adventure that ended in a friend having a bite taken out of his shoulder, and she DID ask for the assignment)
>assigning her an impossible task that he himself had spent a decade on and telling her it was easy (it was clearly a test)
>tricking at least two children into stabbing themselves with a fountain pen (this is where she starts to crack)

>> No.11076504

>>11076499
>stabbing themselves with a fountain pen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvvEZz2qR5s

>> No.11076544

>>11076499
If she goes around asking for it and going in adventures then she better look like a crazy bitch herself or being desperate at least for being pushed to that position. That suspected murder as your first crazy event better be believable, but yeah the final thing about the children should be the tipping point.

Maybe put the doubt as another character, leave breadcrumbs for her to unconsciously ignore until the children are at play. I don't know what meaningful scene you wrote but maybe tie them well together with the seed of doubt, both in favor of the madman from the point of view of her, as against him from the point of view of your audience.

>> No.11076704

>>11075671

Hey, yeah I remember you. I'm almost sorry not to have been back with better news! The upside is that I had very lengthy correspondence with bestseller acquaintance and I know where to go with a rewrite. It's more of an extensive edit than a rewrite, really. Removing some of the darkest parts, starting the book with the first huge event instead of building up ('let the reader catch up') and so on.

>>11075934

My wife and I watched The Girl On The Train last night and that was unbelievably bleak. My story is going to be a little less bleak in future, and I'm no longer submitting to that fucking prick, so in future things should go more smoothly.

>> No.11076892

Going for the first person peripheral narration for my novel.

The novel should be around 180-190 pages.

Do I have a Chance?

>> No.11076932

I started a short fanfic to get into writing again, but as always wrote myself into a corner. How do I get out of this? All I need is a link from one scene to the next without it being an asspull.

>> No.11077042

>>11076932
What's the scene

>> No.11077054

(((elements of style)))

>> No.11077852

>>11076892
The Great Gatsby

>> No.11077933

>>11069215
Another thousand. 113k

>> No.11077993

>>11077042
it's basically going from a girl that's uninterested in MC to her opening up to him and both of them talking. but I don't want it to be that he gets her attention from something cliche like 'muh dangerous guys creep up to her at an alley and he saves her'

>> No.11078061

>>11076262

I don't think he is criticizing the medium, but discord chats are always created to make a community around something and 99% of the time in my experience they just become a place people post inane memes.

>> No.11078949

I learned Japanese and I’ve had this urge that has become an obsession. I won’t release my novel until I translate it into Japanese. Much harder than I anticipated, but if I can gain a small cult following of 2 Japanese males I’ll have succeeded.

>> No.11078958

>>11077993
Have him say something when talking with her that relates to someone in her life. Maybe he reminds her all of a sudden of her father or something. People are weird, they don't need much encouragement to start talking about themselves, but even perceived connections can be helpful in building rapport.

>> No.11079739
File: 49 KB, 221x246, 045A6B83-64DF-4201-AF7C-FC78F67D77BB.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11079739

Haven’t worked on it in too long because college projects and finals reared their ugly heads. At least I’m really far into it, farthest I’ve gotten with any book so far. Looking forward to summer, I’m going to at least get the first draft done before school starts again dammit.

>> No.11079796

>>11066181
Yes, I did the final draft of chapter 3. I'm projecting the final draft to be completely finished by the end of June.

>> No.11079828

>>11067879
Don't give in, anon. How close is your story to being wrapped up? Is there a lot to say? Not that much?

>> No.11080375

>>11068856
Keep going anon

>> No.11080426

>>11066181
no. broke keyboard. annoying to type by click the keys on screen

>> No.11080803

>>11079739
you can do it kermit

>> No.11081872

>>11080426
How did you break your keyboard

>> No.11081929

>>11074365
There's already a Discord setup if you want to join
https://discord.gg/CdJGb6

>> No.11082845

How many drafts for a novel?

>> No.11082888

No, I've gotten stuck because I think my story is fucking trite and derivative and probably doesn't deserve to be finished ever.

But I can't start a new one with a better premise either because I find coming up with something original and interesting is too hard.

>> No.11083007

>>11082888
Don’t give in, anon-chan. You’ll think of something.

>> No.11083016

>>11082888
This is why you write down all your ideas as they come to you. Don't just assume you'll remember or that they're not significant enough to warrant writing down.

>> No.11083417

>>11082845
Give up

>> No.11083434

>>11082845
I dunno man, until you feel it's done?

>> No.11083501

>>11083016
If there is no gratification for what I've done, then it's literally wasted work

>> No.11084016

Is there any good place to post original fiction online? Booksie? Tumblr? Just a pastebin? I'd like for people to be able to read and comment my work but I can't seem to find any site that works well. What do you guys use if any?

>> No.11084301

>>11084016
I format my writing with LaTeX and convert it to a .pdf, then upload it to google docs as a quick and easy e-reader and link it on my blog. Bonus is I can allow people to read it, but not download the entire file. Obviously there are scrapers that can get around that, but it's enough of a deterrent.

>> No.11084329

>>11084301
Thanks. Mind If I ask what you write and how to start a blog? Is it a blogspot thing or something else? I have a tumblr but It's getting little to no traffic. How do you attract readers, or rather; how do the readers find your blog?

>> No.11084450
File: 406 KB, 380x298, 1484793509856.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11084450

>>11084329
Just some generic-(ish) fantasy. It's not breaking any boundaries, but I know what itch I'm scratching (It's not porn.) I mirror it over Tumblr Blogspot and Wordpress.

Finding readers is the hardest part. In blogging, it basically boils down to how well you use your tags, what your audience is, and who you know. If you're writing for something that has little to no readers, you're going to rot into obscurity. If you want to write something like that and actually care whether or not anyone actually reads it, you'll need to gather some dedicated readers with other works first. Doing that while retaining your dignity can be troubling at times, so it really depends how much effort you want to put into it. (I'm not saying you should, but going to >>>/trash/ and writing shitty erotic fiction for some niche is an easy way to get visibility). Tag literally anything that could be possibly tangentially related and be certain to keep it up. Staying consistent is important. I've seen several people build followings, then ruin them by taking year-long hiatuses and acting surprised when they've lost all their momentum and 80% of their readers.

Though apart from just writing what people want to read, which is pretty obvious, the most important this is just knowing other people who do the same thing as you. If you can get yourself mentioned by other, more notable blogs, you'll be able to start building your own name and return the favor. Scratch your back you scratch mine type thing. This can be hard, as it depends on how good you are at making friends in the same genres as you, but wriggling your way into a network of writers who all promote each other is basically required if you wish to do any sort of self-publishing.

All of this might sound like pandering to fandoms and niches is the only real way to become popular, and you'd be right. Hope that doesn't discourage you too much. It's certainly possible to get notoriety from more literary works, but it's much much harder. Hope this helps.

>> No.11084516

>>11084450
Thanks, it certainly helps a lot! I already have a tumblr so maybe it's best if I start with that. I'm thinking I should just start to write and not worry so much about platforms.
I've frequented some fandoms and written smut so my dignity is already well on its way down the drain, no problems there.
I'll certainly take your advice about .pdf files though. Thanks again for your advice, It's appreciated!

>> No.11084564

>>11070111
My dream journal desu

>> No.11084573
File: 173 KB, 2688x2688, thunk.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11084573

>>11084564
Can dreams be considered real?

>> No.11084585

>>11067511
>I-i paid you a small fortune...
>And this gives you power over me?

>> No.11084595

Today, I wrote nothing.

>> No.11084602
File: 35 KB, 574x430, 1520630552329.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11084602

>Constant doom and gloom about writers trying to get published
>Actual people with talent dont make it
Theres no hope is there?

>> No.11084613
File: 999 KB, 300x202, TETSUOOOOOOOO.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11084613

>>11084602
Always reminds me that going through STEM and keeping writing as a hobby was the correct choice.

>> No.11084799

I wrote a lot as a teenager, then stopped after my mother more or less convinced me I'd never make it.

I want to start again, but I don't really know where to start. I think I'd like to write a short story or two before I try a novel, just to have the satisfaction of having genuinely finished something, but I don't know where to start.

I think I want to outline because I know otherwise I'll just wander aimlessly and never get anywhere, but I don't quite know how to do that either.

I'm overwhelmed at the moment.

>> No.11084896

>>11084585

You don't pay an agent to read your work, dumbass.

>> No.11084999

>>11084613
>doing STEM
>am constantly surrounded by mediocrities who say this shit
>"so glad I never went into movies and now am a website admin for a company that prints t shirts"
>"lmao can you imagine if I pursued my dream instead of settling for something I didn't really enjoy?"
>"oh, you're choosing a hobby as a career? I'll take one latte please!"
>"the only thing better than staying late is hopefully dying before I can collect my pension. That'll make dad, I mean my boss, REALLY happy"
When I was a teenager I used to get pissed off because I thought STEMlords were mocking my artistic ambitions. Then I gave in to their jeers. I was weak. But now as a STEMlord myself, I understand the truth--it's an attempt at gallows humor. These sneers and smug self-congratulations are last ditch efforts at camaraderie among doomed losers who opted for material comfort, consumerism, and social approval instead of creativity and happiness.

If there are any young people reading this post, then please: study applied underwater dildo theory. Take a fart into your parents' checkbook. Take out exorbitant student loans. But whatever you do, don't study STEM or "something practical," something "to fall back on." The people telling you to do this are soulless husks of human beings, probably more insect than man. And if you don't resist, you will wake up one day and discover you are just like them--mediocre

>> No.11085057
File: 1000 KB, 1280x720, 1469699132397.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11085057

>>11084999
A six figure salary is hard to beat when pitted against such trifling things such as self-actualization, creativity, and happiness.

Though, I've got several creative endeavors outside of my job. Sometimes I wish I had more time to write, but whenever I feel like that, I just look at my bank account and remember what really matters: money.

>> No.11085098

Got the first draft done so now its time to start improving on it

Don't have much hope in getting it published, if it gets rejected I can self publish it on amazon though

>> No.11085183

>>11066181
is there a term for when you like messy looking women like this?

>> No.11085212

>>11066830
This is actually fucking great in a "catcher was just salinger shitposting" kinda way.

>> No.11085257

>>11084016
Use the discord too.

>> No.11085426

>>11085057
-2/10

>> No.11085439

>>11067040
I'm the same. It just flows more naturally when I'm writing with pen and paper.

>> No.11085473

>>11070849
Write a short story nigga.

>> No.11085480

>>11085426
What are we scoring? Your life compared to mine?

>> No.11086135

>>11085057
>what really matters: money
That's actually a disgusting sentiment

>> No.11086137

>>11085183
low standards

>> No.11086211

>>11085480
He is right tho.

>> No.11086283
File: 458 KB, 250x250, Just hanging out.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11086283

>>11086135
Disgusting sentiment for a disgusting world.
I'd dedicate my life to my artistic pursuits if I didn't need to worry about finances, but I'd trade losing potential writing time to work than losing it to surviving on a pittance.

Honestly I don't know how anyone can physically subsist on an income less than 70k/yr in this day and age.

>> No.11086912

>>11086137
rude

>> No.11086916

>>11066181
>posts anime for OP pic
>thinks he will ever get a novel published
sad

>> No.11086994
File: 7 KB, 251x201, yeah.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11086994

Sigh. No I didn't. I had another day where I felt insecure about writing. So, I went to Barnes and Noble and read and book and browsed through the newly released section. I was able to amp myself up by saying, "Yeah, I can do this too!" But then came home, and ate chips instead.

Why am I a failure at everything I do goys? Some days I'll write something that I think is amazing. Other days, I'm the worst in the world and nobody would care about my viewpoint.

>> No.11087125

I haven't wrote anything since 2016. Got some meth to get through finals this week, and ended up writing 20,000 words Sunday night. Could have probably wrote more but I kept obsessively going back over everything with more changes and edits. I read it yesterday thinking it would sound horrible when I was sober but it's probably the best thing I ever wrote.

>> No.11087141

>>11087125
post an excerpt.

>> No.11087156

>>11087141
I was jolted awake by the sound of gunfire in one of the neighboring stacks. The shots
were followed by a few minutes of muffled shouting and screaming, then silence.
Gunfire wasn’t uncommon in the stacks, but it still shook me up. I knew I probably
wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep, so I decided to kill the remaining hours until dawn by
brushing up on a few coin-op classics. Galaga, Defender, Asteroids. These games were
outdated digital dinosaurs that had become museum pieces long before I was born. But I
was a gunter, so I didn’t think of them as quaint low-res antiques. To me, they were
hallowed artifacts. Pillars of the pantheon. When I played the classics, I did so with a
determined sort of reverence.

I was curled up in an old sleeping bag in the corner of the trailer’s tiny laundry room,
wedged into the gap between the wall and the dryer. I wasn’t welcome in my aunt’s room
across the hall, which was fine by me. I preferred to crash in the laundry room anyway. It
was warm, it afforded me a limited amount of privacy, and the wireless reception wasn’t
too bad. And, as an added bonus, the room smelled like liquid detergent and fabric softener.

The rest of the trailer reeked of cat piss and abject poverty. Most of the time I slept in my hideout. But the temperature had dropped below zero the past few nights, and as much as I hated staying at my aunt’s place, it still beat freezing to death.

A total of fifteen people lived in my aunt’s trailer. She slept in the smallest of its three
bedrooms. The Depperts lived in the bedroom adjacent to hers, and the Millers occupied the large master bedroom at the end of the hall. There were six of them, and they paid the
largest share of the rent. Our trailer wasn’t as crowded as some of the other units in the
stacks. It was a double-wide. Plenty of room for everybody.

I pulled out my laptop and powered it on. It was a bulky, heavy beast, almost ten years
old. I’d found it in a trash bin behind the abandoned strip mall across the highway. I’d been
able to coax it back to life by replacing its system memory and reloading the stone-age
operating system. The processor was slower than a sloth by current standards, but it was
fine for my needs. The laptop served as my portable research library, video arcade, and
home theater system. Its hard drive was filled with old books, movies, TV show episodes,
song files, and nearly every video game made in the twentieth century.

I booted up my emulator and selected Robotron: 2084, one of my all-time favorite games.
I’d always loved its frenetic pace and brutal simplicity. Robotron was all about instinct and
reflexes. Playing old video games never failed to clear my mind and set me at ease. If I was
feeling depressed or frustrated about my lot in life, all I had to do was tap the Player One
button, and my worries would instantly slip away as my mind focused itself on the
relentless pixelated onslaught on the screen in front of me.

>> No.11087170

>>11087156
This is from Ready Player One.

>> No.11087178
File: 1.01 MB, 1920x1200, Cyberpunk.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11087178

>>11087170
I know. Whenever I feel down or get the feeling my Novel Won't get Publish I read this Novel and a few others to improve my confidence.

>> No.11087417

>>11087178
Why?
Ready Player One should be a prime example of why talent is irrelevant for getting a book published nowadays and that it all depends on luck.

>> No.11087571

>>11087417
Maybe it's because he knows he has no talent.

>> No.11087601

>>11087571
No one here has talent.

It's funny how /lit/izens think they can write a successful novel for easy money, but they don't because of muh standards.

>> No.11087619
File: 147 KB, 1689x2768, Artificial_Womb.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11087619

>>11082888
OK things look a bit brighter now. I decided to do what I always preach to others but never seem to actually do myself. RESEARCH.

I made a list of nearly 100 research subjects relevant to my story and I'm now basically trawling wikipedia for ideas. It seems to be working - I've blown through only about 10 of the subjects but I already feel like my outline is gaining more definition and becoming more unique in the process, and my research is also introducing me to new subjects that I hadn't even considered but might be useful.

At some point I might raid the library as well if I feel like I need more.

>>11083016
Ah, the good old waiting for ideas to fall on your lap approach. I'm kind of done with that. I'm gonna just strongarm my way through this with brute force.

>> No.11087732

>>11087619

Brute force is the only way. If you only write or research when you're inspired then you'll never get anything done. Treat it as the best job you can ever have, do it every day, and inspiration will come every day.

>> No.11088007

I had planned to write during March, but my father passed away so I've been withering away into a feedback loop of self-loathing. I plan to publish this online, I don't deserve to get paid for something so subpar. As for money, my ideal end is to run out so I can starve and die painfully, as is what is right for someone like me.

>> No.11088035

>>11087732
I've got to brute force myself occasionally. I usually just start writing an outline for what I want to write in that segment or just throw ideas at a wall until I feel better.

>>11087619
>Wikipedia
You know, people shit on wikipedia as a bad source for research but I think it's fine for getting a basic impression. As long as you get to the point where an expert can look at you've written and say "Yeah, pretty much I suppose", I'd say you've achieved your goal.
Of course, some research you've got to do right, like if you're describing a city like LA or London, you should probably visit it at least once to get a feel for the place.

>> No.11088115

Wait, are here only people writing genre fiction with main characters, romance and such crap?
Do you really count your words instead of focusing on your story?
Also why the need to write novels?
Honestly some of the best reads of mine were stories with 50-150 pages or even less, no need for writing long ass books, other than just wanting to sell trivial escapistic amusement literature.

>> No.11088123
File: 179 KB, 583x800, flat,800x800,070,f.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11088123

>>11088035
Well it's not like there is really anything else out there that is easily accessible and pretty much all-encompassing in its topics.

I'm not at a point where I'm overly concerned with accuracy of my information, it's more useful to get a feel for what's out there and what possible connections there may be that I've overlooked. I'm mostly looking for sources of inspiration in history and mythology.

Technical accuracy is something I can look into in the final phases of my drafting.

>> No.11088136

>>11088115
I only want to write a short novel of 180 pages, Sir.

>> No.11088149
File: 2.00 MB, 400x326, 1447731890094.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11088149

>>11088115
I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this post.
I'm fairly certain "main characters" aren't limited to genre fiction.
Word counting is a metric of your progress. No one here cares really about final word count as long as its in a certain range, you count words to keep track of how many you added in a day/week/month/ until you finish.
The market for short stories is small and the market for "trivial escapistic amusement literature" is large.

>> No.11088190

>>11088149
He's just hoping to validate his own misconstrued idea that he's smarter than everyone else on this board/in any given room and the only way he knows how to do that is to say mean things about the stuff he thinks people care about.

>> No.11088367

>>11088149
>>11088190
Excuse me for being so rude, I was sort of just venting. The thing is I just read through the thread and got the idea that the discussion was very focused on quantity and writing a novel (I just wondered about the obsession with writing novels nowadays, as if it would be the only real form of literature), also there was that one chart posted itt about books that give you guidelines on how to write novels that sell well. Maybe that was the point that mainly made me mad, not really some of the posters in this thread. I can fully understand why people would wrote literature that sells well, because everyone needs to live off something. In fact this is what really conflicts me these days. Writing really fulfills me, but there is no real point to start out for someone who has aspirations of creating art and not literature that is crafted exactly towards the needs of the market. I've read quite a lot of articles and scientific works about the dilemma of literary fiction vs genre fiction (at least that's what I guess it's called in the discourse of the anglosphere) and frustratingly it seems like you can't really be an author nowadays without writing genre fiction. And that's something that seems pretty unappealing to me. I mainly write partly surrealistic, sometimes dream-like, neo-romantic kind of literature which wouldn't fit in any genre and is un-consumable by its nature (at least that's what I hope it to be, it may just be utter garbage as well).
And yes, you're right about short stories not selling very well. What I've however read about that it can be sold are anthologies like "17 stories about an island" or stuff like that.
In my town there is also one short story contest but I've looked up last years winners and the stories all were the same and revolved around youth relationships and love.

I'll probably try to get into translating, which is also very hard (especially in times of google translate) but more tangible than earning money by writing yourself.

>> No.11088381
File: 219 KB, 1024x860, Reddit the Book.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11088381

>>11088367

>> No.11088399 [DELETED] 

>>11088381
I have seen or read almost none of the stuff mentioned in the text, however I liked Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, Adams, Star Wars and Indiana Jones when I was 12 and watched some Tarantino movies with friends but I don't feel ashamed for that. I'm not that interested in movies and pop-culture.

>> No.11088578

>>11088367
I genuinely enjoy writing genre fiction and no amount of /lit/ memes will stop me.

>> No.11088597

>>11088367

I posted early on in the thread. My crazy lit/crime thing turned into a Nordic-ish crime thriller ('add a private detective') because an agent said it was more likely to sell. Ended badly for that particular agent but I still think I have the makings of something that may eventually sell. I love to write but I also want to make it my living, and Christ knows I won't get anyone's interest with a niche literary fiction novel. Maybe if I get established I'll try to write something more meaningful again.

>> No.11088600

>>11088597
Why didn't you change it?

>> No.11089854
File: 351 KB, 700x800, image.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11089854

>>11087601
Plenty of people here have talent compared to many best selling authors. Yet they're just consious enough of quality to be unable to stoop to the lowest common denominator while simultaneously lacking true talent that would allow them to go beyond conventions and become an intellectual literate in the classic sense.
Of course, their fickle attitudes also get in the way of following through: some fanfiction autist who consistently writes five pages a day might gain a following while anons get stuck on the same novel or novelette for years.

>> No.11089864
File: 90 KB, 706x709, 475848.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11089864

>>11066181
Are her eyes outside of her hair, or is her hair dipping behind her eyes? Why do illustrators think this is acceptable?

>> No.11090379

>>11089864
It's intentional, just like "mouth hole in the cheek" and "rhinocerus noses".
You may not like it, but this is what peak anime performance looks like.

>> No.11090635

>>11084573
Well, writing the account will be considered a real experience, but the dreams are the fiction itself.

>> No.11090776

>>11075081
Last time you said it be 80k

>> No.11091009

I read about writers, and I hear the experiences of writers on this website, and I think to myself; is it worth it? I like to write, sure. I can make stories and worlds. But is it worth it? The market is oversaturated and every other writer on /lit/ says every agent will ignore you for years. "FOLLOW YOUR PASSION" responses aside: is writing a viable career that I can live off of? I don't want to become some scribing savant who spends 24 hours a day grinding away for peanuts for the sake of "art". I want to go to a workplace and do what I'm good at and enjoy and make fair money. Is there any place for that in the field of creative writing? Where do I go to find it?

>> No.11091084

>>11091009
I think making a career out of writing is wildly irresponsible and unlikely to succeed. That said I think there is a subsection of people out there that will never be happy or satisfied with life if they don't chase that passion, it's not a hobby for them its a neurosis. If you enjoy writing but aren't going so mad from not writing that you're willing to risk starvation then it's not a life for you and you should pursue what keeps you content while fulfilling this hobby on the side.

>> No.11091116

>>11084799
Try writing out some of those aimlessly wandering ideas, see if you can build an outline from that.

>>11086283
Supposedly the sweet spot for income is $104k USD/year.

>> No.11091124

>>11088367
https://intralingo.com/category/cardinal-sins-of-translation/

>> No.11091150

>>11091116
>sweet spot for income is $104k USD/year.
Is that combined household income or for an individual? Also what do you mean by sweet spot? Genuinely interested, not taking the piss.

>> No.11091216

>>11091150
It's for single person households. The paper is "Happiness, income satiation and turning points around the world" by Jebb et al, published in Nature. I keep trying to reformat the link to pass the spam filter but Hiro won't have it.

TL;DR Emotional wellbeing demands income of $60k-$75k, $95k-105k is when people have the leeway to evaluate your life and pursue self-actualization. (In North America. Other countries have different ranges, like Latin American only needing the equivalent of $35k/yr.)

>> No.11091485

So I finished a 9 page long short story today, based on a dream I once had. I know that's not a lot, but I'm quite at the beginning yet (I've always been writing something every now and then, but just since this year I seriously got back into it) and not sure yet how I could fill whole chapters with my material or if I even want it.
My next project would probably be some kind of anthology about a certain place and its history, maybe spanning from pre-roman times to nowadays times. Thinking about it, I might as well not make it an anthology of short stories but just one long story with a lot of chapters whose only common ground is the place of action. I've already started something similiar that is focusing on a smaller period of time and will probably be around 11 pages long.

>> No.11091614

>>11085212
There's no plot whatsoever and there aren't any named characters. Most of it is a series of dialogues or nameless characters ranting about this or that in their own way. Sometimes only one side of a conversation like that excerpt.

>> No.11092267

>>11069215
please shill this when you finish i want to read it lmao

>> No.11092615

>>11084799
>because I know otherwise I'll just wander aimlessly
that's writing

>never get anywhere
yes you will

>I don't really know where to start
>I don't quite know how to do that either
>I don't know where to start
>I'm overwhelmed at the moment
just write. write write write write. enjoy the entire rest of your life. never expect success. enjoy it for the experience.

>> No.11092681

>>11091485
Can we read your short story?

>> No.11092684

>>11066181

Yes, and I'm pretty pleased with it:
>>11092669
>>11092673

>> No.11092796

>>11092684
To genre fiction

>> No.11092817

Is there a publishing company that specializes in Novella.

>> No.11093933

>>11092684
its shit.

>> No.11094127

>>11066181
I haven't touched it in months. I hate my own writing. I have another idea that's far less developed and I have less attachment to. I may start writing that a page a day and if I slip up simply kill myself.

>> No.11094183

>>11070111
Yes. A chapter (MAYBE two) for a history book. Should get back to it.

>> No.11095550

>>11094127
Ah, yes, I remember my first novel too.

>> No.11095602

>>11092817
https://thejohnfox.com/journals-accepting-novellas/

>> No.11096694

>>11095602
Thanks

>> No.11096780

>>11092684
Another Newfoundlander here? Small world.

>> No.11096800

>>11095602
More links like this please.

>> No.11096813

>>11096780
yease me son whattayat

>> No.11096843

>>11096813
This is it, me buddy, this is it. Better not be going to Alberta, that shit is fuckin whack, everyone's going there.

>> No.11096875

>>11096843
Nah b'y I'm in the Brook, chillin' like a villian, fuck the oilsands

>> No.11096884

>>11096875
My man. I'm from the East coast myself, never been out your way. My friends always said that Corner Brook has some good looking women out there, any credence to that?

>> No.11096912

>>11096884
Holy fuck, what a question, absolutely, my god--MY GOD--it's T&A central here, the amount of thicc girls walking around leggings are astonishing. And if you want the literary heartland of the island, this is *the* place, the last bastion, it's a shame a bunch of the independent bookstores dried up though (retiring owners and all). Been to Book Worm in Gander lad?

>> No.11096939
File: 18 KB, 400x400, AP-n-Txq_400x400.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11096939

I write teen/youngish romance fiction in superhero/sci-fi settings. I wrote a couple thousand words from the girl's perspective today.

>> No.11096967

>>11096912
Damn, that sounds incredible. I know Grenfell is out that way, so I figured it'd have a decent arts crowd too, but that sounds better than I thought. In St. John's there is maybe one? used book store left. Not much else.
Haven't been to Book Worm in Gander. Been to Gander before, but it's probably been about a decade. Good spot?

>> No.11097056
File: 1.86 MB, 2607x3023, bookworm.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11097056

>>11096967
We get fucked by the big black frozen dildo of mother nature though, due to the elevation and it being *a city literally in the mountains*, but yeah, the art scene is really popping off here, it's a shame MUN's still got the tuition freeze, it feels like there's no money going to their campus, let alone Grenfell's. Talent is hemorrhaging, but not without a fight. But yeah, I was out that way a few months ago, it's a great spot, picked up this stack:

>> No.11097185
File: 266 KB, 665x574, 1491604312466.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11097185

Hey writers who self-published: how do you market your book? I just finished mine, but I'm trying to find ways to just give out my book for free because I just want people to read it.

>> No.11097195

>>11097056
How's Descriptionary?

>> No.11097201

I used to write as a kid.

Mostly war or scary stories. always got good grades.

Ended up cybersecurity engineer instead and have a passion for writing but I kind kg suck at it

>> No.11097204

>>11097201
All you can do is get better.

>> No.11097297

>>11097195
It's great, it's a good general tool "for when you know what it is, but not what it's called"; everything's sorted by subject, so it's easy to find words that are logically similar.

For example, the index structure pretty much goes like this:
Animals
--Cats
----Words that describe the physical features of cats
--Dogs
----Words that describe the physical features of dogs
(you get the idea)

It's no OED, but it's neat for writer's block and such, but I'd get a later edition if I were you. I probably will too, someday, this one's limited.

>> No.11097318
File: 1.75 MB, 2934x5216, IMG_20180504_0045513.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11097318

>>11097297
whoops, forgot the picture. (gotta love feline AIDS!)

>> No.11097345

>>11097185
Remember how Will Smith just went around door to door hawking his widgets in the Pursuit of Happyness? That's you man. Go find local coffee shops and bookstores that will sell your books.

>> No.11097352

>>11097056
>its a shame our parasitical cathedral tendril is being starved and atrophying
good

>> No.11097369
File: 10 KB, 154x183, nfld.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11097369

>>11097352
You think we don't want autonomy either?

>> No.11097495

>>11097056
Man, I say the same thing about the tuition freeze. MUNSU is always on NTV bitching about it. Really selfish, IMO. Can't keep the tuition down and have the facilities and Mun get any better. Oh well.

Those are sweet books man, sounds like I should definitely head there. Hope you have a great weekend coming up, my man.

>> No.11097590

>>11097495
I know a bunch of students who are getting wise to these bad union decisions, parading under the name of "affordability", when we all know it's just cheap education; and especially facilities, my god, one of the bathroom's pipes are done up with duct tape, and the paper towel dispenser wasn't fixed for weeks, FM just left a giant roll, exposed on the counter, which would get soaked in the little water spilled out of the sink and on people's hands, I mean if a paper towel dispenser right across the library can't be fixed for weeks then we're all FUCKED. This grand palace they built seems somewhat Ozymandian (all of the efforts are put towards clearing the snow, how apt), or at the very least, nearing on CBGBs level of bathroom quality.

...But you too bud, take care! Hopefully watching Hellraiser and having bonghits with the missus tomarr'. Have a good one.

>tfw our independence flag is literally a chad

>> No.11097679

Hi /lit/
I want to write essays of things on my mind and post them anonymously online somewhere. Does anyone know of a good way to do that?
I was looking into different blog sites, but most of them require you to pay a subscription which kind of defeats the purpose of being anonymous because I can't pay it without giving them my info. Blogger seems like it might work, but it'd be better to avoid Google.
Something like this site but where I can make super long posts that are saved.

>> No.11097682

>>11097679
just make your own site on neocities senpai https://neocities.org/

>> No.11097699

>>11097682
wut abt medium make a medium and post shitty essays like a techbro

>> No.11098130

>>11066181
I wrote almost 2,000 words in the last 24 hours, but I had to completely destroy the last draft to do so. So... maybe?

>> No.11098426

>>11084999
I can't tell if you're joking or not, but I did a STEM degree and only finished it to realise I don't want to work in that field at all and wish I took more time to think it through and then pursue a passion.
I wish I could fucking go back to high school and change things

>> No.11098583

>>11097682
>>11097699

I'll look into these two
thanks

>> No.11098648
File: 71 KB, 705x959, 1521660235913.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
11098648

Can someone compile a list of resources for writers next thread? Like publishers, recommended reading for beginners, things like that.

>> No.11098778

>>11098648
bump for interest

>> No.11098999

>>11098778
I'll wait for somebody to make a new thread to start contributing some content, then we can see what else we got.